profanity

According to the latest publicity-baiting study from the Parents Television Council (mission accomplished!), primetime television has gotten a heck of a lot more foul-mouthed over the past five years.

In the study, called "A Habitat for Profanity: Broadcast TV's Sharp Increase in Foul Language," the PTC uncovered a 69 percent increase in the use of profanity during peak primetime viewing hours between 2005 and 2010, Deadline reports.

"Our analysis of the first two weeks of this still-new fall television season shows a disturbing trend that shocked even us," PTC President Tim Winter said. "Profanity is far more frequent and the profanity itself is far harsher than just five years ago. Even worse, the most egregious language is being aired during the time slots when children are most likely to be in the audience."

Would you like to see more nudity and profanity on network television?

It's no secret that the networks are losing ground to the cable channels when it comes to original scripted programming, especially dramas. Just take a look at the Emmy nominations for Best Drama this year and you see that three of the six nominated are from cable: Mad Men, Damages, and Dexter). And the three that are from the networks are shows that have been a while and are (arguably) on the back nine when it comes to their life: Boston Legal, Lost, and House. While the network shows obviously get more viewers than cable, cable (and online) is the place to go for more creative content and buzz.

George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" routine famously landed him in jail. He was charged for obscenity in 1972 after performing the bit at Milwaukee's Summerfest. When it was broadcast the following year on a New York City radio station, the FCC got in on the act. The radio station challenged the fine, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court.

Now, I intend on using every one of Carlin's "dirty words" after the jump so consider yourself warned. Be prepared to wash your computer's mouth out with soap. It may look like a saint, but it swears like sailor.

Basic cable channel A&E bought the syndication rights to The Sopranos, and now the network is busy trying to clean up the show for its audience. What can and can't they air? It's a fine line that basically says blood is okay but brain spatter is not. Case in point: the last episode of season one has Jimmy Altieri getting whacked with one bullet to the back of his head. When the episode aired on HBO, the audience saw blood spatter on the wall and chunks of brain slide down the wall. A&E's audience won't see the brains. There are about one hundred other instances where executives have to make similar decisions about violence, language and nudity. The newly edited versions of The Sopranos air on A&E in January.

I'm wondering if it's even worth the effort. A&E bought the right to air all 85 episodes of The Sopranos... for a staggering $2.5 million per episode. But how much fun is it really going to be without all the naughty stuff?

ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX have all filed appeals to the FCC's fines for indecent
language and subject matter in their programming. The biggest fine was against CBS's Without a Trace for a
scene showing too much of a teen-age orgy (or maybe they didn't like the subject matter altogether?). For that, the FCC
says CBS must pay an unprecedented $3.63 million. There were also fines against The Early Show on CBS for
sucking - ha! just kidding - for profanity in 2004 when a Survivor castoff said "shit", and against
The Billboard Music Awards on FOX for the same thing.

The networks are all appealing the fines on
the grounds that the FCC's tough new stance on indecency is vague and inconsistent.

Just in case Mick Jagger or,
God forbid, Keith Richards decides to flash us, ABC was already planning to put a 5-10 second
delay on the halftime show. Now it will also be ready in case Matt Hasselbeck decides to moon the camera. For the first
time in the Super Bowl's 40-year history, the entire event will be broadcast with a five-second delay. That includes
pre-game, game, and post-game coverage. Gee, I wonder what that's all about. It couldn't be the thing that wouldn't
die, AKA Janet Jackson's accidental or intentional boob reveal during the halftime show two years ago, could it?
Apparently ABC doesn't want the $550,000 in fines that CBS had to pay for that major nip slip. Last year, FOX refused
to put a tape delay on its broadcast of the Super Bowl. FOX network said it was treating the game "as a news
event".

The Parents Television Council publicly praised ABC for going with the delay. The group
president said, "ABC has wisely decided to ensure that this year's Super Bowl is not hijacked by raunchy
performers as it was in 2004."

Now that the sex will be taken care of, what about all the shots of the
coaches and players yelling curse words? Come on! We may not be able to hear them but we know they're not yelling about
figs.